The Prince of the Rings
by Tacuma
Summary: The Prince of Tennis characters in a Lord of the Rings setting. Echizen Ryoma get the One Ring and is send on a quest to destroy it, with help from the members of the Fellowship. Warning: shounen-ai
1. Chapter 1

The Prince of Tennis characters in a Lord of the Rings setting. These two have always been my favourites! I hope you guys will like it, even if you have never seen or read the Lord of the Rings! For the people who have seen the movies or did read the books: I follow the script of the movie, please don't kill me if I skip some scenes!

**Title: **The Prince of the Rings  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair, Golden Pair, Ah-Un Pair, Emerald Pair (probably)  
**Chapter:** 1/?  
**Genre: **AU, fantasy, angst, romance  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Word count: **3348 words  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the Lord of the Rings.

**A/N: **Ami88, you did a wonderful job on beta-ing this fic.

* * *

_The Prince of the Rings – Chapter 1_

_  
_The world has changed: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, I smell it in the air… Much that once was is lost, for none now live to remember it.

It began with the forging of the Great Rings.

Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest...fairest of all beings.

Seven to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsman of the mountain halls.

And Nine, nine were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else, desire power.

For within these rings was bound the strength and will to govern each race.

But they were all of them deceived.

…for another ring was made.

In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Chinen Hiroshi forged in secret a Master Ring to control all others.

...and into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life.

One Ring to rule them all…

One by one the Free lands of Middle Earth fell to the power of the Ring. Men and Elves fought against the armies of Lord Chinen Hiroshi. Victory was near, but the power of the Ring could not be undone. Lord Chinen Hiroshi himself, came to the battlefield and slaughtered Men and Elves.

It was in a moment when all hope had faded, that Tezuka Kunikazu took his father's sword, and cut the Ring from Lord Chinen Hiroshi's hand. The moment the Ring left Chinen Hiroshi's hand, his armour clattered on the ground and his body disappeared.

Tezuka Kunikazu had the chance to destroy the Ring, but he couldn't. He had kept it, until Orcs attacked him and his men. Hit by an arrow, Kunikazu fell of his horse, in the water. The Ring slipped of his finger.

And some things that should not have been forgotten…were lost.

For two and a half thousand years the Ring passed out of all knowledge, until it was found by the creature named Shinjou Reiji. He took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains, and kept it there for five hundred years.

Then something happened that nobody had foreseen. The Ring was picked up by a Hobbit, Echizen Nanjiroh, from the Shire. He took the Ring back home, keeping it a secret from all others.

Soon the time would come when Hobbits would shape the fortunes of all.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The sky was cloudless, and the sun was shining brightly. Beautiful flowers bloomed, and the hills seemed greener than ever. Another perfect day in the Shire. A black-haired Hobbit laid under a tree in the grass, sleeping soundly. In a distance the sounds of a cart and a horse were heard, and also the mumbling of a deep voice. The sounds didn't wake the sleeping Hobbit up. Suddenly the sound of the cart stopped, footsteps were heard on the soft grass.

'There was a hundred per cent chance he would be asleep,' said the voice who had been mumbling before. 'Echizen Ryoma, wake up.'

The Hobbit slowly opened his eyes, and glared at the man who had woken him up.

'Inui, you're late.'

'A Wizard is never late, Echizen, nor is he early. There is a 97 per cent change he arrives when he means to,' answered the bespectacled Wizard.

'Why did you wake me up?' asked Echizen without really listening to the tall man. 'You know the way to my fathers house, right?'

'I need some data and your father probably won't tell me. Tell me about the long expected party. I heard it's going to be a Party of Special Magnificence.'

'You know Ojaji…he's got the whole place in uproar. Half the Shire has been invited. He is up to something,' said the black-haired Hobbit.

'I see. Thank you for the information,' answered Inui.

'Can you drop me off at the village?'

'Sure, come with me.'

The tall Wizard and the small Hobbit walk to the cart. Together they rode to the village of Hobbiton without saying another word. Most of the Hobbits were working or playing outside. When the cart passed, they all looked up. Elderly glared at Inui. He was a disturber of peace. The children were enthusiastic, and asked for fireworks. The Wizard stopped the cart, and offered the children a glass of juice, but their parents quickly took their children away from Inui, before they could drink the purple coloured juice.

When they passed by the Green Dragon, Echizen jumped off the cart and walked to the pub. He was hungry. Inui went alone to Bag End. Echizen Nanjiroh's house is one of the biggest and most beautiful Hobbit holes in town. A sign with the words 'No Entrance Admitted' was hanging on the gate. The Wizard ignored it and walked in. When he knocked on the door, he heard Nanjiroh's raw voice:

'Leave, unless you're a pretty girl.'

'I am not, but there is a 76 per cent change you will let me in anyway,' answered the Wizard.

A middle aged man with dark brown hair opened the door. He was obviously annoyed.

'What are you doing here, Inui?'

'Can I come in? Maybe we can have some tea. I heard you're planning something big for your 111th birthday party. Ryoma suspects something. Care to tell me about it?'

'The brat…well, I can tell you one thing, it involves pretty girls. Goodbye,' answered Nanjiroh, and he slammed the door shut.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Fireworks exploded in the night sky above Hobbiton. Music played and Hobbits were dancing, drinking and laughing. Tables were piled with all kinds of delicious food and lots of beer. Half of the Hobbiton people had come to celebrate Nanjiroh's 111th birthday. Nanjiroh himself walked from one girl to another, flirting with all of them. Inui busied himself with the fireworks and Echizen sat with his best friend Momoshiro at one of the tables, eating as much as they could.

A girl with two long, brown pigtails with bows approached the two eating boys. She watched them for a few moments before she spoke.

'Ryoma-kun?'

When Echizen didn't answer, Momoshiro poked him. 'A girl is talking to you.'

Echizen turned around. 'What is it?'

'I…I was wondering…would you like to…dance with me?'

'No,' was all Echizen answered, before he started eating again. The girl ran away crying, but neither of the two young Hobbits paid attention to it.

On the other side of the field, close to the place where Inui was lighting fireworks, two other young Hobbits tried to take some rockets from the Wizard's cart. One of the Hobbits, with red hair, took some of the fireworks. The other one, black-haired, had a worried look on his face.

'I really think we shouldn't do this, Eiji,' said the black-haired Hobbit.

'It will be fun, Oishi! Come, help me with this!' said the redhead and he placed the rocket in the ground before firing it. In the sky the rocket exploded and an enormous fire dragon flew through the sky for all the Hobbits to see. Everybody stared at it in awe, except for Inui. He frowned, and wondered who had fired the dragon. The Wizard walked to his cart and there he found Eiji and Oishi. Their hair and faces were black, because they had stood too close to the rocket when they fired it.

'I see I found two volunteers to drink the wonderful new juice that I invented.'

Two pairs of eyes stared scared at the Wizard. 'No, please don't!' begged Eiji. 'We'll never do it again, we promise!'

'Too late. You had to think of that before you stole the fireworks,' said Inui and he handed both of them a glass with a weird coloured liquid. Both Oishi and Eiji quickly gulped it down, before they ran to the river to get rid of the horrible taste.

At the party Nanjiroh had gathered all the partying Hobbits around him.

'Dear friends,' he said, 'dear beautiful girls, dear Hobbits I hate and everybody else who came to this party. Today is my last birthday in Hobbiton. I'll be leaving. Are there any pretty girls that want to come with me?'

It was completely silent for a moment. Nobody said a word.

'There are prettier girls to the place where I go,' said Nanjiroh, before he suddenly disappeared. For a few heartbeats the Hobbits didn't know what do to, but then they all started to talk and run around, asking each other what had happened. They searched for Nanjiroh, but he was gone.

Inui hurried to Bag End, knowing he would find Nanjiroh there. He opened the door of the little house, and found the disappeared Hobbit with a large bag, ready to leave.

'Nanjiroh, leave that Ring here, it's dangerous.'

'No, I'm taking it with me,' answered the Hobbit.

'Leave it here,' said Inui again.

'It's my baby. I can't leave it here.'

Then it seemed like the Wizard magically grew taller, his voice grew louder, and all the lights in the little house extinguished.

'Leave it here!' repeated Inui.

Nanjiroh's eyes grew wide. He tried not to be intimidated, but the Wizard was scary when he used his magic. 'Alright', he answered as he dropped the Ring and walked away. 'I won't need it when I'm with the hot Elves in Rivendell anyway.'

Inui watched the Hobbit leave, before he took a good look at the Ring. It was like he had expected, the One Ring, made by Lord Chinen Hiroshi himself. The person who would wear the Ring became invisible for others. That was one of the great powers of the Ring. The Wizard didn't touch it, knowing that it would be difficult to let go of it once he did.

Not much later Echizen walked in. He sat down on one of the couches in the living room, and wasn't surprised to see Inui there.

'Your father went to Rivendell,' said the Wizard. 'He left you everything. This house and everything it contains.'

'Whatever,' answered Echizen. 'Is there something to eat?'

'Did you see the Ring on the floor when you came in? Can you pick it up for me?' asked Inui.

'Do it yourself, old man,' said Echizen. When he wanted to walk to the kitchen to get himself some food, Inui stopped him.

'Pick it up. I searched through my data and I found that this is the One Ring, made by Lord Chinen Hiroshi. Throw the Ring in the fire.'

Echizen obeyed without complaining and threw the Ring in the fire. A few moments later Inui picked it out with a pair of tongs. He showed the Ring to Echizen.

'What do you see?'

'Letters,' answered the Hobbit. 'Some Elvish language.'

'It's the language of Mordor. This truly is the One Ring. Your father took the Ring from the creature Shinjou Reiji during a game with riddles. It has dangerous powers. We have to get it out of here. Take the Ring, pack your bag and go to Bree. Don't use your real name. I'll go to my colleague, Yanagi Renji, to discuss what we will have to do. 'I'll meet you in Bree, at the Prancing Pony.'

'But…' started Echizen, but the Wizard stopped him. He had heard something near the window. He looked outside and found Momoshiro there. The Wizard grabbed the Hobbit's collar and pulled him in.

'A 100 per cent chance you have been eavesdropping.'

'No, no! I didn't hear anything!' said Momoshiro. 'I only heard some unimportant things about a Ring with strange powers and Lord Chinen Hiroshi. Please don't let me drink one of your juices!'

Inui raised an eyebrow. "My juices? No, I gave them to some other naughty Hobbits already. I have a better punishment for you. You will go to Bree with Echizen.'

'What? I'm not going to…' started Echizen, but Inui interrupted him again.

'I'll see the two of you in Bree then. Make sure you stay off the road. There is a 70 per cent chance you will arrive safely if you stay off the road.'

'Only 70 per cent?' asked Momo shocked.

'Yes, 70 per cent,' answered Inui. 'It depends if someone or something is following you. It could be 45 per cent as well.' With that said he left.

'45 per cent?' cried Momo.

'If we don't do as he says, we can be sure he will kill us with one of his juices,' answered Echizen as he grabbed his bag and started to fill it with food.

'It's not fair,' whined Momoshiro, but he too started to prepare for the journey to Bree.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Echizen and Momoshiro walked through the fields. The sun was shining and the 45 per cent chance of surviving seemed ridiculously low. Maybe this trip wasn't as bad as they had thought! Momoshiro talked happily, while Echizen just listened, and commented now and then.

They had walked for a few hours when they met Eiji and Oishi in the middle of a cornfield. Eiji ran into Momoshiro and the two of them fall on the ground.

'Momo! Ochibi! Oi, Oishi, I found Momo and Ochibi!' shouted Eiji happily.

Oishi appeared as well. He happily greeted the two younger Hobbits. When they heard someone shouting angrily, Eiji told them all to run.

'What's happening?' asked Momo.

'Farmer Ryuzaki is chasing us,' answered Eiji. 'I don't know why. We took a few carrots and cabbage, but that's all. Yesterday we took some mushrooms and the day before onions. But we never take much.'

'Mada mada dane,' answered Echizen.

When they heard Ryuzaki shouting again and her dogs barking, the four of them started to run. They ran through the cornfield and through the woods until Echizen suddenly stopped. He stood on the edge of a cliff. Eiji bumped into Echizen, almost making him fall down. When Oishi ran into Eiji, they could barely keep themselves steady. As soon as Momo bumped against Oishi, the four of them fell down and rolled down the hill. They ended flat on their backs on the ground. Luckily none of them was badly hurt, so they quickly stood up.

'Nyaa, I lost my carrots,' whined Eiji.

'I see something better than carrots!' shouted Momo happily, and he pointed to some mushrooms that were growing in the woods. He and Eiji ran to the mushrooms and picked out the tastiest ones.

Oishi stood next to Echizen. 'Are you alright?' he asked. Echizen just nodded without saying a word. They looked at their friends who were fighting over one of the mushrooms.

A chilly wind blew past the four Hobbits.

'We have to get off the road!' yelled Echizen and he walked away. Oishi's eyes widened, and he quickly pulled Eiji and Momo away from the food.

'Oishi! What are you doing? Our mushrooms!' protested the redhead.

'Something is coming,' answered Oishi worried. He pulled the other two off the road to the place where Echizen was waiting. He sat under the open roots of a tall tree. The three of them settled beside him and kept quiet.

They heard the sound of hooves. Close to their hiding place, the sound stopped. They heard the sound of somebody jumping off a horse. The person came closer and closer. The four Hobbits held their breath. Insects were crawling around under their hairy feet and between the roots above their heads.

Oishi looked up and saw a figure, completely dressed in black. He couldn't see a face in the dark cloak and the shoes and gloves were made of metal. The oldest Hobbit got pale and Eiji was just in time to make sure he wouldn't start screaming or crying.

Momoshiro carefully grabbed Eiji's bag with mushrooms and threw it away. The mysterious horse rider heard the sound of the bag that fell between the plants and left to check on it. The four Hobbits quickly stood up and ran away as fast as they could.

'What was that?' asked Eiji. 'It was obviously searching for something, or someone!'

'That Black Rider was searching for us,' answered Echizen honestly. 'We have to go to Bree.'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Inui drove on his horse, as fast as he could, to Yanagi. Yanagi was a wise man. He would know what to do with the One Ring. When the wizard arrived at Isengard, the place where the mighty Yanagi lived, Inui found his colleague already waiting for him.

'Smoke rises once more from the mountain of doom...the shadow takes shape in the darkness of Mordor; the hour grows late...and Inui Sadaharu rides to Isengard. There is a 100 per cent chance he is seeking my counsel...'

'Renji, the Ring of Power has been found,' said Inui as he jumped of his horse.

'Are you sure?'

'100 per cent. All these years it was in the Shire, under my very nose.'

'And you didn't even notice. You were too occupied with your data,' answered Yanagi. His eyes were closed and his face didn't show any emotion.

'There is a 75 per cent chance we can counter Chinen Hiroshi if we act now,' said the bespectacled Wizard as they enter the enormous tower where Yanagi lived. 'We still have time.'

'Time?' asked Yanagi. 'Chinen Hiroshi has regained much of his former power. He can't take a physical form, but his spirit hasn't lost any of it's potency. The Lord of Mordor sees all! You know what I speak of, Sadaharu. A great Eye, lidless, burning.'

'The eye of Chinen Hiroshi,' whispered Inui as he noted something down in a little book.

'He is gathering all evil and soon his army will be so enormous that he can take over Middle Earth.'

'Where did you get all this data?' asked Inui.

'I have seen it myself,' answered Yanagi and he pulled a cloth away from the table in the middle of the room. It revealed a Palantir. A seeing stone, which can be used to see other parts of the world, where another Palantir is.

'A Palantir is a dangerous tool, Renji,' said Inui and he threw the piece of cloth back over the Palantir. 'There are seven of these stones. We don't know who else may be watching.'

Yanagi sat down on his throne. '75 per cent you said? The hour is later than you think. Chinen Hiroshi's forces are already moving. The Nine have left Minas Morgul.'

'The Nine?' asked Inui shocked and he looks up from his notebook.

'Yes, they're disguised as Black Riders and they've already crossed the river Isen. There is a 89 per cent change they've reached the Shire already. They will find the Ring and kill the one that carries it.'

'Echizen!' whispered Inui. He turned around and walked away, but before he could leave the room, the doors suddenly slammed shut. There was no way to escape.

'Did you really think that a Hobbit could carry the Ring? That a Hobbit could fight the power of Chinen Hiroshi? There are none who can.' said Yanagi. 'There is no victory against the power of Mordor. We should join Chinen Hiroshi, Sadaharu, it would be wise.'

'Tell me, when did Yanagi Renji abandon reason for madness?'

When the last words left Inui's mouth, he was blasted across the room and he slammed against the wall. He was pinned against the wall by an invisible power. Inui wrenched himself off the wall, and raised his staff against Yanagi, blasting him off his feet. Inui and Yanagi battled. Powerful blasts were thrown across the room. Suddenly Inui's staff was wrenched from his hands, it flew across the room and ended up in Yanagi's hand. Using the two staffs, Yanagi swung Inui around.

'You should have chosen to be my ally. The ally of Chinen Hiroshi, but you've chosen pain.'

Inui was breathing hard. A little blood was coming from a small wound above his eyebrow. He tried to stand up, but the other Wizard was too strong. The power of the two staffs was too great. Yanagi sent Inui in a sickening spin to the top of the tower.

**To be continued**

* * *

So, this was the first chapter! Please let me know if you like it!  
If enough people like it I will continue writing!


	2. Chapter 2

Happy Birthday Tezuka!! I wanted to write you a proper birthday gift, but I couldn't write any happy fics.

**Title: **The Prince of the Rings  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair, Golden Pair, Ah-Un Pair, Emerald Pair  
**Chapter:** 2/?  
**Genre: **AU, fantasy, angst, romance  
**Rating: **PG-13 maybe  
**Word count: **2392 words  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the Lord of the Rings.

**A/N: **Do I still have to say that my beta (Ami88) is better than yours? XD

* * *

_The Prince of the Rings – Chapter 2  
_

In the darkness of the night, Echizen, Momoshiro, Oishi and Eiji saw the lights of Bree. They were drenched by the rain, tired from running from the Black Rider and scared. A thick hedge surrounded the village, to protect it from enemies. Echizen knocked at the gate. A few moments later the door was opened by the gatekeeper.

'What do you want?' asked the man.

'We're going to the Prancing Pony,' answered Oishi politely when he saw Echizen wasn't about to answer.

The gatekeeper swung his lantern towards the Hobbits, bathing them in yellow light.

'Hobbits. Four Hobbits. What business brings you to Bree?'

'None of your business,' answered Echizen, before Oishi could utter a word.

'I didn't want to offend you,' said the gatekeeper as he opened the gate, and let the four Hobbits in. 'It's my job to ask questions. There are strange people out there. Can't be too careful.'

Echizen and the others entered the town, and searched for the Prancing Pony. Nervously they made their way through the village, while the tall folk of Bree loomed over them, and huge buildings towered above them. In one of the busy streets they finally saw a sign saying 'Prancing Pony Inn'. The four cold Hobbits hurried inside.

'Hey,' said Echizen to attract the attention of the Inn's keeper who was laughing with some of his customers.

'Good evening little masters,' said the man. 'If you're seeking accommodation, we've got some nice, cosy Hobbit sized rooms available, Mr…?'

'Koshimae,' answered Echizen.

'Koshimae-san, very well. My name is Ohtori Choutaro. Are you interested in one of our rooms?'

'No, I'm looking for Inui Sadaharu, the grey Wizard. Tell him we've arrived.'

The Inn's keeper frowned. 'Inui…Inui. Oh, yes, I remember him. Black hair, square glasses, and always scribbling something down. I haven't seen him in six months.'

'Damned old man,' muttered Echizen.

The four of them seated themselves at one of the tables in the corner, trying to remain quiet, and inconspicuous. The Inn was smoky, noisy, crowded, and dimly lit. People of Bree, a few Hobbits and a couple of Dwarfs were talking, laughing and singing. Oishi looked around nervously.

'Don't worry Oishi, Inui will come,' said Eiji. 'He probably didn't want to go out with this bad weather. Can't blame him for that.'

'You're right,' answered Oishi with a smile.

Momo, who had left to get himself a drink, sat down at the table again with a huge mug of beer. 'Look at how big this pint is!' he shouted happily.

'I want one too!' said Eiji and he immediately stood up to get a pint as well.

'Eiji, you drank half of that already,' said Oishi, but the redhead didn't hear him anymore. Oishi sighed. 'Echizen, did you notice that the man in the corner keeps staring at you?'

Both Echizen and Momoshiro looked at the corner Oishi was talking about. A man was sitting alone at a table in the far corner. He was peering at them from under a dark cowl.

'Let's ask Ohtori-san who he is,' said Momo, and he beckoned the Inn's keeper.

'That's one of the Rangers. They're said to be dangerous people, wandering in the woods. I don't know his real name, but here he is known as Strider,' told Ohtori.

'Strider. That sounds kind of cool,' answered Momoshiro. Oishi thanked the man. Meanwhile Echizen was toying with the Ring. Eiji was sitting at the bar, talking with some locals.

'Echizen? Yes, I know an Echizen,' the redhead answered to a question of one of the men. 'He is sitting over there. He is one of my friends!'

'Eiji!' shouted Oishi.

Echizen stood up to tell the red haired Hobbit to shut up. He grabbed Eiji's arm, but when Eiji pushed back, the black-haired Hobbit stumbled backwards, and fell on the floor. The Inn fell silent, and most of the people looked up to see what happened.

The Ring slipped from Echizen's hand and when he tried to grab it, it slipped on his stretched finger. That instant Echizen vanished.

Far away the Black Riders turned, around and made their way to Bree.

Oishi looked around worriedly, while Momoshiro and Eiji tried to distract the other customers. Without the Hobbits noticing Echizen appeared again, under one of the tables. At that moment two strong hands grabbed the collar of Echizen's coat, and pushed him roughly against the wall. When the Hobbit looked up, he saw the Ranger that had been staring at him.

'You let your guard down, Koshimae-san,' said the Ranger as he pulled the Hobbit to one of the rooms of the Inn.

'You have to be careful with the thing you're carrying.'

'I'm not carrying anything, old man!' answered Echizen.

'Indeed.'

At that moment the three other Hobbits slammed the door open, and ran in, shouting and pointing at the Ranger with chair and candleholders.

'Show yourself, and put your hands up!' shouted Momoshiro.

The man pulled off his cowl. Dark brown hair and a pair of hazel eyes with glasses were revealed.

'He doesn't look like a Ranger,' said Eiji as he lowered the knife. 'He has no beard, no long wild hair and he isn't dirty.'

'I think he looks cool!' said Momo. 'He is tall and strong. I want to be like that and protect Echizen on this journey.'

'I don't need your protection,' answered Echizen.

'Against the Black Riders no one can protect you,' said Strider. 'And that is exactly what you attracted while wearing the Ring. We can't wait for the Wizard. They're coming.'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The Black Riders turned around as soon as they felt the Ring's call. They drove to Bree as fast as they could. The rain had stopped when they arrived at the small city. Their horses kicked their front legs against the gate, knocking it down. They entered the city, searching for the Ring.

They made their way into the Prancing Pony and went to the Hobbit room, where four beds were occupied. The Black Riders drew their swords slowly, without making any sound, and stabbed the piles of pillows that were hidden underneath the blankets to make it look like Hobbits were sleeping there.

The Ringwraiths let out a loud and frustrated shriek when they found out that the Hobbits weren't in the beds. In another room, Momo, Oishi and Eiji woke up because of their screams. The three of them had been sleeping in Striders bed, while the Ranger himself and Echizen sat next to the window, looking at the Ringwraiths in the room across theirs.

'What are they?' asked Echizen.

'They were once Men,' answered Strider. 'Great kings of Men. Then Chinen Hiroshi gave them Nine Rings of Power. Blinded by their greed they all took them, without question, one by one falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will.'

Striders looked down, watching the Ringwraiths gallop down the streets of Bree, leaving the small town.

'They are the Nazgul, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the ring...drawn to the power of the one…they will never stop hunting you.'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The next day Strider took the four Hobbits away from Bree very early in the morning. He had given all of them a small sword, so they could defend themselves if that would be necessary. They walked for a few hours through the wilderness without meeting a single person. In a few days they would reach Rivendell.

When Strider stood still for a moment, Momo and Eiji sat down, ready to prepare some food.

'We're not stopping yet,' said Strider. 'We'll make a camp at Weathertop by nightfall.'

'What about breakfast?' asked Momo.

'You already had breakfast,' answered the Ranger.

'What about second breakfast?' asked Momoshiro, more worried this time. Strider turned around and started walking again.

'Mada mada dane,' said Echizen with a grin. His grin disappeared when an apple hit his head. Now it was the black-haired Hobbit's time to grin. He picked up the apple and started to eat it. Echizen caught a second apple that was flying his way. Eiji begged if he could have it, but Echizen refused and took a bite before he followed their guide.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Yanagi Renji stood over the Palantir, his hands cupping the massive eye.

'The power of Isengard is at your command, Chinen Hiroshi, Lord of the Earth.'

It became dark and strange sounds were heard.

'Build me an army worth of Mordor.'

Yanagi seated himself on his throne when his Orc Overseer entered the room.

'What are the orders from Mordor, my Lord,' asked the Orc. 'What does the eye command?'

'We have work to do,' answered Yanagi.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Inui laid unconscious on a cold obsidian floor. He opened his eyes, woken up by the sound of ripping and tearing. Slowly the Wizard sat down on his knees and lifted his head. He slowly stood up, finding that he stood on top of the Orthanc, the tall tower of Isengard. There is no way he can go. He is surrounded on all sides by a sheer 500 feet drop. Inui crossed quickly to the edge, looking down, seeing how Orcs ripping the once so beautiful trees from Isengard from the ground and how they hacked into the trunk with their axes.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

After walking for hours the Hobbits and the Ranger finally reached Weathertop. The Hobbits made themselves comfortable in the ancient ruin on top of the hill while Strider left again to check on their surroundings. Soon the Hobbits fell asleep. The night fell and after a few hours of sleep Momo woke up because he stomach was grumbling. It woke Eiji up as well. They looked at each other and grinned. It was time for food! They made a little fire, and warmed up some of their food.

The voices and the smell of food woke Oishi up. He quickly sat up as he noticed what was going on.

'What are you doing?!' he asked.

'Tomatoes, sausages and crispy bacon!' answered Momoshiro happily. 'We have some for you too!'

'Put it out you fools! Put it out!' said Oishi as he desperately tried to put out the fire with his foot.

'Oh, that's nice,' complained Eiji, 'ash on my tomatoes!'

When the fire was put out, Oishi peeked down the hill and saw something move. Five Ringwraiths moved unnaturally fast.

'They're coming! shouted Oishi. 'The Ringwraiths, the Black Riders, they've found us!'

Echizen woke up because of Oishi's panic attack. When he noticed what was going on he quickly stood up and grabbed his sword.

'We'll have to fight,' he simply stated.

The other Hobbits took their swords as well. The four of them stood close together as they waited for their enemies to appear. It didn't take long. A few moments later one by one the five Ringwraiths entered the old ruin on Weathertop. They took their swords and approached the Hobbits. They simply pushed aside Eiji and Oishi. Momoshiro wasn't strong enough either. He tried to use his sword, but the black creatures were so much stronger.

Now that Echizen stood face to face with one of the Nazgul, and now they came closer and closer, he panicked. He took the Ring from his pocket, and put it on his finger. Immediately he disappeared, but the Ringwraiths could still see him. The One Ring called for them.

One of the black Riders pointed his sword at Echizen. The Hobbit stepped back and fell. He crawled away, but ended up in a corner with no way out. The dark creature stabbed him in the shoulder and Echizen screamed, but before the Ringwraith could stab again Strider appeared with a torch in one hand, his sword in the other.

He set fire in the cloaks of the Nazgul One of them tried to get to Echizen, but the Ranger threw the torch in the empty face of the creature. Screaming and burning he ran away, following the others.

Echizen took off the Ring. He panted heavily and his face was white.

'He got stabbed!' shouted Eiji to Strider.

'A Nazgul sword,' stated the Ranger as he looked at the wound. 'He needs medicine or we will lose him.'

'Is he going to die?' asked Oishi shocked.

'No, he is passing into the world of shadows. He'll soon become a wraith like them. Oishi, do you know the Athelas plant?'

'I never heard of it,' answered Oishi.

'Kingsfoil?'

'Yes, Kingsfoil, it's a weed,' said Oishi relieved, glad that he knew what the other was talking about.

'Help me search for it,' said Strider. 'It will slow down the poison.'

While Momoshiro and Eiji stayed with Echizen, Oishi and Strider desperately searched for the plant. The Ranger sat on his knees, searching in the dark for the Athelas plant. Then he saw one. A small plant with white flowers. Strider carefully pulled it from the ground.

Suddenly he felt a cold blade against his neck.

'A Ranger that let his guard down?' said a soft voice.

Strider turned to face the person who held the sword and looked in the face of a beautiful Elf.

'Fuji!' he said. 'I need your help.'

'Where would you be without me?' asked Fuji with a smile as he followed the Ranger to the waiting Hobbits.

'He got stabbed by the Witch King, the leader of the Ringwraiths,' Strider explained as soon as they reached Echizen, who's breath was uneven and his eyes were wide open, staring into nothing. The Ranger carefully put some of the Kingsfoil in the wound. Meanwhile Oishi, Eiji and Momoshiro stared at Fuji. They had never seen an Elf before.

'He needs medicine,' said Fuji, ignoring the stares. 'Let me take him to king Atobe. I'm the fastest rider.'

Strider nodded. Fuji climbed on his horse and the Ranger placed Echizen in front of him.

'Be careful,' said Strider. 'There are five Ringwraiths that will follow you. I don't know where the other four are.'

With that said Fuji left. The Ranger and the three Hobbits watched them leave.

'Are all the Elves so pretty?' asked Momoshiro.

Strider shook his head. 'Most Elves have a natural beauty, but he is the most beautiful of them all.'

**To be continued**

* * *

I hope everyone liked this chapter! Don't forget to review XD  
And a little something about updating the next chapter, I will be joining the NaNoWriMo, so I won't be able to work on this fic in November. So the next update will take a while. I hope I can update in December!!


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so very, very sorry for updating so late! Please don't hate me, I won't abandon this story, I love it too much, but I hardly have time to update!

**Title: **The Prince of the Rings  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair, Golden Pair, Ah-Un Pair, Emerald Pair  
**Chapter:** 3/?  
**Genre: **AU, fantasy, angst, romance  
**Rating: **PG-13 maybe  
**Word count: **2572 words  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the Lord of the Rings.

**A/N: **Thank you for beta-ing again Ami88!  
This chapter is for LoveFujiTez's birthday! Happy (early) Birthday Junn-chan!!

* * *

_The__ Prince of the Rings – Chapter 3_

Fuji rode through the forest as fast as he could on his white horse. The Elf was looking around the whole time, searching for the Ringwraiths he knew were following him. Moonlight flickered through the trees. The white horse emerged from the trees, and galloped across the open land as the sun was slowly rising.

As soon as he could, Fuji entered a pine forest, trying to hide himself from the Nazgul. Suddenly two Ringwraiths emerged from the trees behind him, and followed the Elf closely. From different directions two other Ringwraiths appeared, and joined the chase. Fuji gritted his teeth, and urged the horse to go faster. He held Echizen closer to his body, making sure he wouldn't fall.

When the horse left the pine forest, the four Ringwraiths were on his heels. Two more of the black cloaked creatures galloped down the hill. The last three Ringwraiths appeared out of nowhere from different directions. Fuji panted as he told his horse to go even faster, trying to escape the Nine. He had to make way when one of his chasers came too close on his left side. A branch of a tree scratched the beautiful face of the Elf as he passed by too closely.

Fuji was glad when the river Bruinen appeared. Without hesitating the white horse leaped through the water and crossed the river. The nine Ringwraiths stopped shortly for the river, slightly afraid of the water. As Fuji reached the other side, he pulled up and turned around to face his chasers.

'Give up the Halfling, Elf,' said the Witch King, leader of the Nine.

Fuji drew his sword. 'Why don't you try to cross the river, and get him?'

An angry screech sounded from the Witch King. He drew his sword as well, and lead the others into the water. The water started to flow faster, and a distant rumble could be heard. Fuji waited until they were halfway across. Then suddenly he stood up in the saddle and raised an arm.

'Non o Chithaeglir, lasto Beth daer: Rimmo nin Briunen Dan in Ulaer!'

A vast torrent of water flooded down the river as if a dam had burst. The Ringwraiths screamed in terror as they were swallowed up by the foaming water. Their piercing cries drowned in the roaring sound of the river as they got carried away by the water.

Fuji quickly turned around and continued his way to the King of Rivendell.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

'Where am I?' asked Echizen.

'A hundred per cent chance you would ask that,' said a familiar voice.

Echizen opened his eyes. He was lying in a big bed, covered with white sheets, and across from him sat the Wizard, scribbling in a book.

'Inui,' Echizen said. He didn't sound very happy.

'I'm sorry for being late,' said the Wizard. 'But you should consider yourself lucky for being here. If not for Prince Fuji and Lord Atobe, you wouldn't have made it.'

Echizen shrugged. 'If you would have been in Bree I might never have been in danger in the first place.'

'I was delayed,' said Inui, and he remembered how he sat on top of the tower of Isengard, and how Yanagi had used his powers to flip him around and to dangle him dangerously on the edge of the enormous tower.

'_You can't lightly throw aside friendship with Yanagi the white! A 100 per cent change it is over for you, Inui! Embrace the power of the Ring or embrace your own death.'_

_Inui lay a__t full stretch, completely at Yanagi's mercy. A small white moth fluttered across between them. Inui looked at it as Yanagi threw him to the other side of the platform. Inui slowly raised himself, and looked Yanagi in the eyes._

'_There is only one Lord of the Ring and he does not share power!'_

_Inui leaped of the tower. Below him was flying a large eagle that screeched in the dark night. It flew over the mountains, bearing Inui to safety._

_Yanagi watched him leave with a dark scowl. 'So you have chosen death.'_

Momoshiro ran into the room where Echizen and Inui were sitting.

'Echizen!' shouted the spiky-haired Hobbit as he jumped on the bed, and wrapped his arms around the other boy. 'I'm so glad you're alright,' he said as he held Echizen tightly.

'Momo! Let me go.'

'He stayed with you 90 per cent of the time,' said Inui. 'He was really worried about you. He didn't even want to leave for a lunch-break. '

'That is no reason to strangle me,' muttered Echizen, and he pushed his friend away. At that moment Lord Atobe entered the room.

'Welcome, Echizen Ryoma, in Ore-sama's humble abode. I hope you will feel welcome here.'

Echizen raised an eyebrow as he looked at the light purple-haired man with his fancy clothes. 'I'll make sure I will,' answered the Hobbit.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Echizen and Momoshiro walked through the streets of Rivendell. Suddenly they heard a loud voice behind them, and only a second later Eiji wrapped his arms tightly around Echizen.

'Ochibi! You're awake!'

'Eiji, be careful!' said Oishi worried. 'His body might still be weak. I'm glad to see that you're out of your bed, Echizen.'

'My body isn't weak anymore,' muttered Echizen, and he pushed the redheads arms away.

Oishi smiled. 'We found someone who you might want to meet. Come.'

Curiously Echizen and Momoshiro followed Eiji and Oishi. They stopped in a small street. A bent figure sat alone on a bench.

'Ojaji,' said Echizen, surprised and annoyed at the same time.

'Ryoma, how nice to see you here!' said Nanjiroh. 'Are you searching for a nice Elf as well? There are plenty. It's too bad that the most beautiful ones are already taken, but there are some wonderful girls left.'

'That's not why I'm here,' answered his son. 'Inui forced me to go here.'

'Inui, yes, he did the same to me once,' said Nanjiroh with a grin.

From the balcony Inui and Atobe watched the Hobbits.

'Ore-sama can see that his strength is returning,' said Atobe as he looked at Echizen.

'A 100 per cent chance the wound will never completely heal,' answered Inui. 'He will feel it for rest of his life.'

'He has come quite far, bearing that Ring. The hobbit has shown extraordinary resilience to its evil, in a way Ore-sama would do as well. But our enemy is moving. Chinen Hiroshi's armies are growing, and his eye is fixed on Rivendell. Yanagi betrayed us, our list of allies grows thin.'

'It's even worse,' answered Inui. 'There is a 97.5 per cent chance Yanagi invented a new type of Orc. He crossed Orcs with Goblin Men. This way they can move in sunlight, what normal Orcs can't, and they will be fast. They can travel far without rest or food.'

'Ore-sama can't solve this problem with only the power of the Elves. We don't have the strength to fight both Chinen Hiroshi in Mordor and Yanagi in Isengard. The Ring cannot stay,' said Atobe.

From different places people arrive. Men, Elfs and Dwarfs. All were gathering at Rivendell. Inui and Atobe watched them.

'This war belongs to all in Middle Earth,' continued Atobe. 'The time of the Elves is over. Ore-sama's people are leaving the shore, and go to the West. Who will fight against Mordor? The Dwarfs are hiding in their mountains, seeking treasures. They don't care about others.'

'We'll have to put our trust in Men.'

'Men? Men are weak. The race of Men is failing. It is because of Men that the Ring survived until now. It could have been destroyed years ago! Ore-sama was there, three thousand years ago, when Kunikazu took the Ring. Ore-sama was there when strength of Men failed.

'_Kunikazu, hurry, follow Ore-sama.'_

_Atobe lead Kunikazu into a volcano, into Mount Doom, where the Ring should be destroyed. The only place where it _could_ be destroyed._

'_Cast it in the fire! Destroy it!' _

_Kunikazu looked into the flowing hot lava. 'No,' he answered._

'_Kunikazu!'_

Atobe turned to Inui. 'Ore-sama should have ended it on that day. Kunikazu kept the Ring, and the line of Kings is broken. There's no strength left in the world of Men.'

'There is one who could help. He can unite the different races,' said Inui. 'He can reclaim the throne of Gondor.'

'He won't,' answered Atobe. 'He has chosen a different path.'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A strong, tall, brown-haired man strolled through the dark halls of Atobe's palace. Strider watched him from the shadows. The brown-haired man looked at an old, broken sword that laid on a cloth-covered plinth.

'The shards of Narsil, Kawamura,' said Strider as he saw the man picking up the sword.

Kawamura looked up and smiled nervously. 'It's still sharp,' he said as he showed a drop of blood on his finger. He placed the sword back, and turned to Strider.

'There is a connection between you and that sword,' he said. 'I could feel it when I touched it.'

Strider didn't answer. Kawamura walked away, leaving the other on his own in the hall. At that moment Fuji appeared behind him.

'There is no need to fear the past,' said the Elf with a small smile. 'You're Kunikazu's heir, not Kunikazu himself.'

'The same blood flows through my veins,' answered Strider as he stood up.

Fuji took his hand and they walked to the garden. 'You will face the same evil as Kunikazu, but I'm sure you can defeat it. You're strong-willed.'

The night had fallen on Rivendell. It was quiet when Fuji pulled Strider onto to a small bridge in the garden. He took both the rangers hands in his own, and looked into his eyes.

'Do you remember when we first met?' he asked.

'I thought I was dreaming.'

Fuji's smile grew wider. 'But I was real. Do you remember what I told you?'

'You said you'd bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortal life of your people,' answered Strider.

'I did,' said Fuji. 'Sharing a mortal life with you is much better than being alone forever. I've chosen you. I won't change my mind.'

Fuji leaned closer, and kissed Strider on the lips. Hesitantly the ranger kissed back.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

'Strangers from far lands, old friends, Ore-sama summoned you here because Middle-Earth is close to destruction,' said Atobe to the council of Elves, Dwarf and Men. Echizen was there as well, sitting next to Inui, hoping he could leave soon. He didn't like Rivendell's leader.

'We can't escape the threat of Mordor,' continued Atobe. 'That is why Ore-sama asked you all to come. There might be a way to fight against this evil. Echizen, bring the Ring.'

Echizen stood up and placed the Ring on a stone plinth and returned to his seat where he lazily sat down again.

'The doom of Men!' said Kaidoh, one of the Dwarfs.

'Is it the real one?' asked Kawamura shyly. He stood up and walked towards the plinth. Carefully he picked up the tiny golden object.

'It's a gift, baby!!' Kawamura suddenly shouted. 'We should use it to destroy Mordor and Chinen Hiroshi! My father fought for years to protect Middle-Earth against Mordor! Our blood kept you all safe, but now is the time to destroy Chinen Hiroshi with his own Ring! We will burn him!'

'We can't,' answered Strider. 'It's power is too strong for us.'

'I'm not weak,' Kawamura shouted. 'What do you, a ranger, know about such things?!'

Fuji stood up and grabbed the Ring out of Kawamura's hand and placed it back on the plinth. 'What do _you_ know?' he said. 'He is Tezuka Kunimitsu, grandson of Tezuka Kunikazu. He is the king of Gondor. Your king.'

'I'm sorry,' said Kawamura, and he timidly sat down on his chair again.

'Tezuka is right,' said Inui suddenly. 'The only way to win this war is to destroy the Ring.'

'What are we waiting for?' grumbled Kaidoh as he grabbed his axe. He swung the weapon down on the Ring. As soon as the axe touched the golden object, the axe shattered to pieces, making the Dwarf fall backwards.

From out of the bushes came a loud laughing voice.

'Who is there?' asked Atobe. 'Show yourself to Ore-sama!'

Momoshiro stood up, and stepped inside the circle of chairs. He was still laughing, not caring about all the eyes that were on him. 'If we could destroy it that easily I would have done it long ago!' he said. 'Stupid Dwarf.'

'What did you say?!' Kaidoh shouted.

Inui pulled Momoshiro backwards, and Atobe stood up from his throne.

'You are not supposed to be here,' he said to Momo. 'Ore-sama did not invite you. And you, Kaidoh Kaoru, the Ring can only be destroyed when it's thrown into the fire of Mount Doom. It's created there, and that's the only place where it can be destroyed. Someone must go there to destroy it.'

'I'll go!' said someone, and that was like a sign for everybody to stand up and to start discussing who would go and who would _not_ go.

'I'll go, baby!' shouted Kawamura, who got hold of the Ring again.

'They will hear you coming from afar,' answered Kaidoh. 'Whole Mordor will know when you're still miles away from Mount Doom.'

'Then I'll go,' interrupted Fuji.

'I'm not letting you go alone,' answered Tezuka.

'I don't trust Elves,' muttered Kaidoh softly, but Fuji heard it anyway.

'What did you say?' he asked, his piercing blue eyes were open. The Dwarf seemed to become even smaller under Fuji's gaze. 'But you're small. You might easily get into Mordor without being seen. You can come with me and Tezuka, but I wonder if you will get back.'

'BURNING! I'm going too!' yelled Kawamura.

'Okay, that's enough!' said Atobe. 'The four of you is enough. And please, take the Ring from Kawamura. He is not the one who will carry it to Mount Doom.'

Fuji took the Ring from the brown-haired man. 'I will carry it.'

'No,' answered Tezuka. 'As the future king of Gondor it's my responsibility.'

'That doesn't make sense,' answered Fuji.

'Then I'll carry it,' said Kaidoh.

'I don't trust Dwarfs,' said Fuji. Before Kaidoh could answer, Inui spoke.

'Echizen will take it.'

'Me?' asked Echizen. He had enjoyed watching the other fight, thinking about going home in a few days.

'I'm going as well then!' said Momo quickly. He didn't want to leave Echizen.

'If the stupid peach is going, I'm not going,' stated Kaidoh.

'Who are you calling stupid?' yelled Momoshiro. 'Do you want to fight?'

'Stop that, now!' said Tezuka strictly, and the two immediately shut up.

'Nya! If you're all going, we will come too!' shouted Eiji as he jumped from his hiding place. Oishi followed him, and tried to calm him down. He was blushing, because he was caught eavesdropping, but nobody seemed really surprised.

'If all of them are going I don't have to,' said Echizen who was the only one still seated.

'You will go, and I'll be going as well,' stated Inui. 'I will be able to gather some good data.'

'Ore-sama demands that all of you are going!' Atobe angrily said. 'Ore-sama doesn't want any of you staying here in the peaceful Rivendell. The nine of you will be the fellowship of the Ring.'

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **The Prince of the Rings  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair, Golden Pair, Ah-Un Pair, Emerald Pair  
**Chapter:** 4/?  
**Genre: **AU, fantasy, angst, romance  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Word count: **2595 words  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the Lord of the Rings.

**A/N: **Thank you for beta-ing again Ami88!

* * *

_The__ Prince of the Rings – Chapter 4_

'Oi, Ryoma, I need to talk to you.'

'What?' asked Echizen annoyed.

'I've got something for you. My sword Sting. It glows blue when Orcs are close by. I don't need it anymore. The Elves won't fight with me, and there are no Orcs here. And this…'

Nanjiroh shows his son a small shirt of close woven Mail.

'I'm not dressing up as a girl again ojaji! You could do that when I was a toddler, but not anymore.'

'It's not a dress, it's Mithril. As light as a feather and as hard as Dragon scales. Wear it.'

'No, it's all glittery and sparkling.'

'Then wear it under your clothes. It will protect you.'

'Why are you giving it to me?' asked Echizen as he started to unbutton his shirt. It was easier to just do what his father said or it would take even longer before he could leave again.

'You're not getting it, I want to trade it. You get my sword, and the Mithril shirt and you give me my Ring back.'

Echizen looked at his father for a second before he started buttoning his shirt again. 'That's not possible.'

'RYOMA!' shouted Nanjiroh suddenly and he reached for the Ring around his son's neck.

Shocked Echizen took a step back. 'You're not yourself Ojaji. I have to go now. Thanks for the sword and the Mithril.'

'Oi! Give it back! You didn't give me the Ring, so you can't have my stuff! Oi! Ryoma!'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The group of nine left Rivendell early in the morning. The sun was shining, and everyone was in a good mood. They all got themselves some clothes that were fit for travelling. They knew it was going to be a long, and difficult journey, so now they had no Orcs or worse to fight yet, they would take it easy. There were no enemies so close to Rivendell.

They walked through the green fields, and over beautiful hills. Fuji took Tezuka's hand, and together they enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The Elf happily chatted about everything that was about to happen. Meanwhile Kaidoh was talking to the Wizard, asking him what kind of trouble might arise on their way to Mordor. Inui gladly gave him all the data he had collected. This scared Kawamura a bit, who had been listening. He made sure he stayed close to the Hobbits, so he wouldn't hear those predictions, and this way he wouldn't disturb the lovey-dovey couple either. He could also protect the Hobbits. They were so small and innocent.

'How are you doing?' he asked Echizen.

'You won't get the Ring, so piss off.'

Shocked Kawamura took a step away from the Ring bearer. Maybe they weren't as innocent as he thought.

'He is always like that,' said Oishi. 'It's not you, it's him. He is probably afraid of what will happen on our way. It's normal, isn't it? He has to go to Mount Doom, in the middle of Mordor, with Orcs, and Goblins, and Nazgul, and…how can they all be so relaxed? Terrible things are waiting for us!'

'I'm hungry,' said Momoshiro suddenly.

'We just ate, stupid peach,' said Kaidoh.

'So? I'm still hungry mamushi!' Momoshiro said angrily.

'I have to go to the bathroom,' whined Eiji.

'You can't go here, Eiji,' said Oishi worried when the redhead wanted to hide behind the bushes. 'It's too dangerous!'

'Are we there yet?' asked Echizen bored.

'Can I ride Bill?' asked Momo.

'Bill?' asked Inui.

'Yes Bill, the horse of course,' replied Momoshiro. 'My legs are tired, and I'm hungry. Can't you big folks carry the luggage, so I can sit on Bill's back?'

'Why aren't we going through Moria?' asked Kaidoh when they started to climb a mountain.

'Too dangerous,' said Inui. 'We go through the Misty Mountains. There is a 87 per cent change the gap to Rohan will still be open, and from there we turn east to Mordor.'

'We should take the West road to Gondor,' said Kawamura. 'It's the best way.'

'No, through Moria is the safest,' said Kaidoh. 'I have a cousin there. He will help us.'

'I have to pee really badly now!'

'Echizen don't get to close to the ravine! No, 2 meters is still too close!'

'Can one of you carry me then?'

'Stop complaining, all of you!' said Tezuka strictly.

'We should have left the Hobbits at home,' complained Kaidoh.

'For once I agree,' sighed Fuji.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A few hours later the group decided to rest for a while. They all sat down, and shared some food. It made some of the Hobbits much more active, and Momoshiro asked Kawamura to teach them how to use a sword. From the side Tezuka gave short comments on the way Momoshiro moved while he tried to attack his tall opponent. Eiji tried as well. Oishi watched it, and warned the redhead to be careful.

'It will be fine,' said Inui. 'Let him try. I will be able to gather some good data.'

Echizen watched them. He sat next to the fire and tried to warm himself.

'Get away from the blade, Kikumaru, on your toes. Good…very good, react, not think,' said Kawamura while Eiji tried his best to win their little fight.

When Kawamura tries to grab the Hobbits arm, Eiji dropped his sword ,and kicked the Man against his leg. Momoshiro jumped up from his place on the sidelines, and helped Eiji to tackle Kawamura. Laughing they fell to the ground.

'Something is coming,' said Fuji suddenly, who had been on guard.

'What is it?' asked Oishi shocked.

In the distant was a dark cloud visible, like smoke. But it moved too fast for smoke.

'Crebain from Dunland!' said Fuji. With his Elven eyes he could recognize the dark cloud before the others could.

'Hide!' ordered Tezuka.

Inui threw water over the fire, while the others quickly grabbed their bags and hid under the rocks and little bushes that grew on the mountain. A regiment of large crows flew low over the mountain. Suddenly the crows wheel away and move to the south. When they were gone Inui was the first to stand up.

'There is a 100 per cent chance they are spies of Yanagi,' he said. 'We can't take the passage South. We have to take the pass of Caradhras.'

The group changed their route, and went to the pass of Caradhras. It meant they would have to go over the mountain that was covered with snow. There was no road and the snow was cold and slippery. Once Momoshiro started complaining about cold and hunger, Tezuka silenced him. He wasn't in the mood for more complaining. So they all walked through the snow in silence. Except for Fuji. Elves are so light they can walk _on _snow instead of going through it.

Suddenly Echizen's food slipped. He tried to grab Momo's jacket, but missed, and he rolled a few meters down the hill.

'Are you alright?' shouted Oishi worried. Fuji walked back to help Echizen up again. Kawamura picked something up that the Hobbit had lost when he fell.

'BURNING BABY! You lost the Ring! I still think we should use this little thing against our enemies in Mordor! With this Ring we can blow their socks off, baby!'

Everybody stared at the big muscled man, wondering what he would do. They didn't know his side of him very well. In his burning-mode he was unpredictable and stronger than any of them.

'Kawamura, give it back to Echizen,' said Tezuka strictly.

'Of course, Mr. King of Gondor! I won't keep it, even though we can BURN Mordor down with this thing!'

With hesitation Kawamura gave the Ring back to Echizen. He had visible trouble with returning the powerful object. Echizen grabbed it quickly, and hung it around his neck again.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Yanagi stood between his Orcs and Goblins when black crows flew over their heads. The Wizard listened to the cries of the crows before he went to his tower.

'So you're taking the pass of Caradhras, Inui. What if it fails? Where will you go if it fails? Will you take a more dangerous road?'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The higher they climbed, the heavier the snowfall got. It piled up almost a meter high, which made it impossible for the Hobbits to walk through. Kawamura carried Eiji and Oishi, while Tezuka held on to Echizen and Momoshiro. Since the snow wasn't bothering Fuji, he was in front of the group, checking the road to see if it was safe to move on.

'Inui, this is impossible,' said Kaidoh. The snow reached his chest.

'There is a 56 per cent chance this will be over in a few hours,' answered the Wizard.

'There is a voice in the air,' interrupted Fuji. 'Listen.'

The wind carried a voice. Inui recognized it immediately. 'Yanagi.'

Thunder rumbled through the air, and lightning hit the top of the mountain. Rocks and snow fell down from above. Inui tried to use his staff, but Fuji pushed him against the mountain, away from the danger. The others stood as close to the mountain as possible as well. The rocks fell down in front of them. Some on the snowy road, some into the cliff. Snow followed. Kawamura tried to shield Eiji and Oishi from danger. Within moments the pass was blocked by snow and rocks. The fellowship was buried in the snow. Kawamura, and Tezuka dug their way out of the snow to give the Hobbits air. Fuji, Kaidoh, and Inui freed themselves from under the snow as well.

'We must take another road,' said Kawamura.

'We must go through Moria!' replied Kaidoh.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

'Moria,' said Yanagi. 'You fear to go through the mines, don't you, Inui. The Dwarfs delved too greedily, and too deep. You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dum.'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Inui sighed. 'Let the Ring-bearer decide which route we'll take.'

'Why me?' complained Echizen. 'Like I know what the best way is!'

'Just choose already!' said Kaidoh angry.

'Alright, then we go through those mines. At least there won't be any snow. I'm freezing to death here.'

'A 100 per cent chance we will regret it,' muttered Inui, but nobody heard him.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The fellowship walked on the shore of a dark lake. The water reflected the light of the stars. On the other side rise high mountains. They stopped on a little square. The road ended there. Inui touched the flat surface of the mountain. Moonlight shone on it, and faintly a door appeared in silver light.

'How did you do that?' asked Momo in awe.

'It's Itidin,' answered Fuji. 'It reflects only moonlight or starlight. He didn't do anything.'

'Oh,' replied the Hobbit a little disappointed. 'So, how do we get in?'

As the moon rose higher, the lines on the wall grew brighter and more clear. It showed ancient letters and symbols.

'It says "The door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter," ' said Inui. 'So, if you are a friend, and you speak the password, you can enter.'

'How big is that chance?' asked Fuji.

Inui hesitated. 'About…41 per cent.'

'That's not much,' answered Kaidoh

'You're one to talk,' said Fuji. 'You're a Dwarf. Shouldn't you know how to get in? You told us it was your cousin who lived here, and that he would welcome us.'

'Maybe he doesn't want just anybody to walk in. I can imagine he wants to keep people like you out.'

'Stop it already,' said Tezuka. 'I thought you were the grown ups in the company.'

Meanwhile Inui raised his arms and held his staff against the stone door.

'Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen!'

Everybody looked at the door, waiting for it to open. The wind blew through their clothes and everybody shivered. Nothing happened. The doors stayed closed.

While Inui tried again, spoke different words and different moves, the others sat down to rest a little. Fuji leaned against Tezuka's shoulder, and the future king laid an arm around his waist. Eiji and Oishi sat close to each other, and tried to keep warm. The redhead told his friend stories about the adventures they would have in the future. Kaidoh was restless and walked up and down the lake, looking at the dark water. Kawamura tried to convince Momoshiro that their pony Bill couldn't go into the mines.

'It is alright,' said Kawamura. 'He will find his way home. The mines are no place for a pony. Not even for one as brave as Bill.'

Momo hugged the horse one last time before he let him go. The horse walked back from where they came from. Meanwhile Echizen had been looking at the different tricks Inui tried on the doors, which were still closed.

From the place where Eiji and Oishi were sitting, Eiji threw a stone in the water. He was bored. Eiji took another stone, and is ready to throw it when Tezuka grabbed his arm. He had jumped up, made Fuji fall over, to stop the Hobbit.

'Don't disturb the water,' he said.

Eiji looked a little scared at those harsh words as Tezuka returned to Fuji.

'You made me fall,' said Fuji.

'Sorry,' said Tezuka. He looked at the rings in the water. 'It was important.'

'You can make up for it with a kiss.'

'What?' asked Tezuka shocked. 'I can't…not in front of all the others.'

'What is the Elfish word for friend,' asked Echizen suddenly.

'Mellon,' replied Fuji.

With that the huge stone doors parted. They revealed darkness deeper than the night. Everybody quickly stood up and they stepped into the blackness. Behind them, unnoticed, something stirred in the water.

'Enjoy the hospitality of the Dwarfs ,' said Kaidoh to Fuji. 'Malt beer, red meat from the bone. The home of my cousin. They call it a mine, but it isn't.'

The fellowship looked around. Their eyes slowly got used to the darkness around them. The only light was a faint light from Inui's staff. Fuji's eyes were the best and were adjusted sooner than the other's. Everywhere where skeletons. The dead from an old war with rusty armour and shields filled with arrows.

'No, this is no mine,' said Fuji as he pulled an arrow out of one of the skeletons. 'It's a tomb. These are from Goblins.'

Tezuka and Kawamura quickly drew there swords. Kaidoh raised his axe. They backed away towards the entrance.

'We should go to the gap of Rohan,' said Kawamura. 'We should never have come here.'

Suddenly Echizen was lifted from the ground. A long, dark tentacle is wrapped around his leg, and dragged him outside, towards the lake. Tezuka and Kawamura ran towards him and Tezuka severed the tentacle. Echizen fell down, but Inui caught him. About twenty more tentacles appeared from out of the lake. The dark water boiled as a hideous beast showed more of himself as it attacked the Fellowship. Fuji shot an arrow right into the creatures head. It tried to grab the ones who attack him. He almost caught Kaidoh, but the Dwarf used his axe to chop off another of the tentacles.

'Into the mines!' shouted Inui.

They all hurried inside the Mines of Moria. Fuji shot another arrow before he followed them. The tentacles followed them closely behind, and ripped the doors from their places. With a shattering echo the entrance crashed down. Rocks and stone came falling down, blocking the doorway, leaving the Fellowship in pitch black darkness.

* * *

Sorry for leaving it at this, but real fans know what will happen, ne? XD


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: **The Prince of the Rings  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair, Golden Pair, Ah-Un Pair, Emerald Pair  
**Chapter:** 5/?  
**Genre: **AU, fantasy, angst, romance  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Word count: **2529 words  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the Lord of the Rings.

* * *

_The__ Prince of the Rings – Chapter 5_

As the entrance got blocked with enormous rocks, darkness filled the mines of Moria. Then a faint light came from Inui's staff, just enough to lit the room a little.

'Now we have no choice but to go through the mines,' said Fuji jokingly. Nobody answered. They were all looking around, trying to let their eyes get used to the darkness around them, afraid that whatever killed all the Dwarves was still lingering around somewhere.

Kaidoh stepped closer towards Inui, so he would be closer to the light. Eiji grabbed Oishi's hand, and Fuji did the same to Tezuka, just because he now had the chance to do so without angering his lover. Momoshiro stepped closer to Echizen, and wanted to take his hand as well, but Echizen stepped away.

'Don't touch me!'

Disappointed Momoshiro stepped back again.

'There are older, and fouler things than Orcs here,' said Inui.

'Like what?' asked Oishi scared.

'We have to go that way,' said Inui, ignoring the question.

They followed the Wizard, and walked through the mines. They walked over small paths, and bridges above deep mine workings. They used steep stairs, and passed a Dwarf cemetery. There were Dwarf skeletons lying around everywhere, and monuments were covered in blood.

The path split in three passages, all three of them leading into a dark tunnel. They're almost identical, and Inui paused in front of them.

'Don't tell me we're lost,' sighed Fuji. They had been walking for hours, and he already had enough of the old dark places. Even the fact that he had held Tezuka's hand for about three hours in a row couldn't cheer him up anymore.

'We're lost,' stated Inui.

Echizen sighed, and sat down on a piece of rock. 'At least we can rest some then.'

'If we rest, we can have something to eat too, right?' asked Momo.

The others sat down as well. There was nothing else they could do about the situation. Their only hope was that Inui would remember which way they had to go to get out of these mines. They shared some food, and whispered softly.

'Someone is down there,' said Echizen softly to Inui, making sure the others couldn't hear him. He didn't want them to panic again.

'I know,' answered the Wizard. 'It is Shinjou Reiji. There is a 100 per cent chance he has been following us for three days already. He escaped from his torturers in Barad-Dur. The Ring has drawn him here. He can't live without it. Don't be surprised when you hear him call it 'masterpiece'. The Ring drove him mad.'

'Sad,' answered Echizen in a sarcastic way. He didn't really care much about the weird creature as long as he didn't disturb them. 'Ojaji should have killed him.'

'There is a 59 per cent chance that your father refrained from doing so because he pitied him. Yes, even Nanjiroh was capable of feeling pity for someone. Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve to live. There is a 89 per cent chance Shinjou still has a part to play. Oh, we have to go that way!'

'I'm glad you remember where we have to go,' said Oishi happily.

'He doesn't,' answered Fuji as he stood up. 'The air just doesn't smell so foul there.'

They continued the way Inui had told them to go. They passed under arched doorways and end up in a big, black and empty space. Inui made more light to show the others where they were.

Now that there was more light the Fellowship could see the roof far, far above them. There were enormous pillars, hewn of stone everywhere. The walls were black and polished, smooth as glass. The sight was wonderful, and overwhelming.

Ahead of them was a smashed wooden door. There were black arrows all around the door, also in the two dead Goblins that were lying next to it. Suddenly Kaidoh gasped, and ran through the doors. Inui shouted the Dwarf's name, but Kaidoh didn't stop. He ran into the room, and looked at the stone table in the middle. A single ray of sunshine beamed through a small hole in the wall, and fell directly on the stone table, so Kaidoh could read the inscription. Without saying a word he fell to his knees.

By that time the others had entered the room as well.

'Here lies Balin, son of Fudin, Lord of Moria,' read Inui the inscription, written in runes, out loud. 'I already thought there was a 95 per cent chance he was dead.'

The Wizard carefully lifted the rotting remains of an old book that was left behind on the stone table. The pages cracked as he opened it, and started reading.

'We must hurry,' whispered Fuji to Tezuka. 'I don't feel safe here.'

Inui started reading out loud from the book: "They have taken the Bridge, and the second hall. We bared the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground is shaking, drums in the deep! We cannot get out! A shadow moves in the dark. Will no one save us? They are coming!"

'Sounds like a poem,' said Echizen. 'Who has time in such a situation to write such a long story?'

'Seems that Balin guy had,' answered Momoshiro.

'That _Balin guy_ was my family,' said Kaidoh angrily as he grabbed Momoshiro's collar. Eiji stepped back, away from the two fighting men. As he stepped back he stumbled against a well, bumping against an armoured skeleton, making it fall down. Everybody froze to the spot when the skeleton clattered down the well with a loud echo.

'There is a 100 per cent chance they found us now,' muttered Inui.

Inui had hardly finished his sentence when they heard a low rolling boom from the depths below. Slowly the sounds grew louder. A great horn blasted nearby and soon other horns, running feet and harsh voices were heard as well.

Echizen pulled his sword, and noticed it was glowing blue.

'Orcs,' sighed Fuji. 'I knew we shouldn't have stayed here.'

Tezuka ordered the Hobbits to stay behind the others. There they would be safer and not in their way. Together with Kawamura he closed the doors and wedged them.

'They have a cave troll,' said Kawamura shocked. He had been the only one who had been able to see it. He and Tezuka quickly joined the others. Kaidoh grabbed two rusty axes from the skeletons that were lying around, and jumped onto the tomb.

'Fss, let them come. I'm ready.'

A few times there sounded a loud boom on the door before the wood broke down into little pieces and at least twenty Goblins stood inside the room, followed by an enormous cave troll.

Fuji was the first one to take action. He shot multiple arrows into the throats of the Goblins, killing them with a single arrow. Kaidoh jumped forward and buried his axes in the helmets of two of the Goblins, while Kawamura and Tezuka stepped forward as well, and used their swords to get through the mass of enemies. Inui joined in the battle with the sword in one hand, and his staff in the other.

When the cave troll tried to hit Tezuka with his club, the future king stumbled backwards. In a flash Fuji grabbed a sword of one of the skeletons, and sliced it into the arm of the troll, preventing it from hitting Tezuka.

Momoshiro was standing with his back against the wall, afraid to fight, but not wanting to be left out. He held his sword in one hand and a saucepan in the other. Because of his nerves he accidently hits the Goblins that approached him with his saucepan instead of the sword. But all the Goblins he hit dropped down on the floor. With a smirk he continued his new fighting style.

The cave troll had left Tezuka be, and while it searched for the one who hit him, he found Echizen. The troll lifted the small Hobbit up in the air and threw him against a wall, followed by an enormous spear that went right through his body.

'ECHIZEN!' shouted Momoshiro. The Hobbit went crazy. Angrily he slashed the cave troll's knee, bringing him down. Eiji and Oishi jumped on his back. As the cave troll tried to look up to see what was happening, Fuji fired an arrow deep in his throat. The troll toppled down, dead.

The Hobbits rushed towards Echizen. Momoshiro fell on his knees next to his best friend, and called his name. For a moment nothing happened, but then Echizen coughed. Everybody looked relieved.

'What's with you?' asked Echizen. 'You all look like it's a miracle I'm alive.'

'It _is_ a miracle that you're alive,' said Inui. 'Look at that spear! A 100 per cent chance it would have killed a wild boar. A 100 per cent chance it should have killed you. Why are you not dead?'

Echizen unbuttoned the top of his shirt, showing the Mithril underneath it.

'Of course, Mithril,' said Kaidoh. 'It were the Dwarves that saved his life.'

It was then that the sound of drums started again.

'We have to go to the bridge of Khazad-dum,' said Inui, and he quickly led the Fellowship back into the huge Dwarrowdelf Chamber. They hurried towards a distant door. Behind them, in front of them, everywhere Goblins started to scuttle down the enormous pillars. The Goblin army was overwhelming. The Fellowship kept running, but it was in vain. Soon they were surrounded by the their enemies. There were hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. But they all froze on the spot when they heard a certain sound. The Goblins ran away, hid themselves, melted into the darkness.

'What kind of weird trick is that?' asked Eiji to Inui, thinking it was the Wizard who saved them from their enemies.

A huge shadow surrounded by flames fell across the hall. The ground was shaking.

'A Balrog,' said Inui. 'A demon from an ancient world. A 99 per cent chance this enemy is too strong for any of you. RUN!'

The Balrog, a massive beast, with a mane of flames appeared. In one hand he held a blade of fire and in his other he held a whip. Tezuka quickly led the Fellowship away, to the top of the stairways. Inui followed, looking concerned.

'Bring them to the bridge, Tezuka,' he said. 'It's near!'

Tezuka hesitated. He knew what was coming, but he did what Inui said anyway. He quickly led the others down the stairway. They ended in front of more stairways, they were like a small bridge, nothing but a bottomless pit on both sides of the stairs. They carefully ran down, until Fuji, who was in the front, suddenly stopped. A piece of the bridge had broken, leaving a gap of a meter between the two parts.

Without thinking Fuji jumped to the other side, easily making it. Kawamura took Eiji under his arm and jumped as well. Tezuka took Momoshiro and threw him towards Fuji and Kawamura. The two caught him and helped him back on his feet. They did the same to Oishi, who successfully ended on the other side as well. Tezuka looked questioning at Kaidoh.

'You can't toss me,' said Kaidoh. Instead he jumped. He barely made it and wasn't it for Fuji and Kawamura, he would have fallen down. They helped him safely on the other side as well. Because of Kaidoh's unfortunate jump, more pieces of the bridge had broken down and fell into the darkness. Behind Tezuka and Echizen an enormous pillar fell down, because of the heavy movements of the Balrog. The piece of the bridge where Echizen and Tezuka were standing was cut off from both sides now and it was slowly starting to fall.

'TEZUKA!' screamed Fuji scared.

Tezuka tried to keep the piece of stone balanced. He made Echizen move a little forward, while he did the same. The piece of the bridge slowly moved forward as well. When the gap between the two pieces of the bridge got smaller, both Echizen and Tezuka jumped. Kawamura caught Echizen and Fuji took Tezuka in his arms. He didn't let go for a few moments. He only let go, because the Balrog was getting closer.

As fast as they could they ran through another hall that ended in another bridge. A smaller one this time, but at least this one wasn't broken. One by one they ran to the other side. Inui was the last one to pass, but he stopped halfway and turned around. He faced the shadow, and the flames of the Balrog that approached him.

'There is a 80 per cent chance you shall not pass,' said Inui, and he placed his staff on the small bridge. White light is coming from it, and put Inui in an almost angelic light. The Balrog spread it's wings, showing his full height. It slashed it's sword at Inui, but the Wizard managed to block it with his own sword, making the flaming sword of the Balrog shatter.

The Balrog stepped forward, ready to attack again. On the other side of the bridge Tezuka and Kawamura drew their swords. But Inui used his staff again. More white light it coming from it. It almost blinded the members of the Fellowship, and they had to shield their eyes. The stone bridge broke down under the feet of the Balrog and the monster fell into the darkness.

Inui turned around, but at the moment he wanted to go to the others, the whip of the Balrog was wrapped around his ankle. The Balrog pulled the Wizard down with him. Inui grabbed the bridge and held on to it. Kawamura wanted to run towards him, and help him up on his feet again.

'A 100 per cent change you will be safer if you leave now,' said Inui. 'Go.' With that said he let himself fall into the bottomless darkness, following the Balrog.

'NO!' screamed both Eiji and Oishi.

Tezuka took Eiji and Kawamura took Oishi and quickly left the place. With the Balrog gone the Goblins weren't afraid to show themselves anymore. While the Fellowship rushed towards the archway, arrows were shot at them. Now and then Fuji shot one back, hitting the Goblins in their head or arm, making it impossible to attack anymore.

Nobody knew how long it took them to get out, but later they tumbled out of the Great Eastern Gate onto a grassy and sunny hillside. Crying the Hobbits fell down in the grass. Fuji walked to Tezuka, wrapped his arms around his waist and buried his face in Tezuka's clothes.

'Fuji, we have to go,' said Tezuka as he kindly lay his head on Fuji's shoulder. Fuji took a deep breath and let go again. He walked towards the Hobbits, and helped them up.

'Are you sure we should leave already?' asked Kawamura.

'Orcs and Goblins will come,' said Tezuka. 'We have to be far away when they arrive, we have to be in Lothlorien by then.'

* * *

I'm very sorry it took so long to update. NaNoWriMo and graduation were keeping me busy! Please review, so I know still enough people are reading this fic!


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: **The Prince of the Rings  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair, Golden Pair, Ah-Un Pair, Emerald Pair  
**Chapter:** 6/?  
**Genre: **AU, fantasy, angst, romance  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Word count: **words  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the Lord of the Rings.

I'm soooooo sorry for the late update! Please know I still write for this fic! I did not abandon it, it just takes a lot of time to write, since there is so much research to do! My apologies. I hope someone still reads this.

* * *

_The Prince of the Rings – Chapter 6_

The fellowship ran across a forest floor covered with yellow flowers. Far above is a roof of golden leaves, held up by silver pillars, huge grey trees. Kaidoh looks around a little nervous.

'Fsssh, it's dangerous here,' he muttered. 'We'll never know when the Elf-Witch will attack us. Everyone who looks at her will fall under her spell and disappear forever.'

'You're just a coward,' answered Fuji. 'I went through the dark mines of the Dwarfs, and now you're telling me you're afraid of these light woods?'

'I didn't say I was scared.'

'You were implying it,' answered Fuji with a grin. He wanted to say something more, but Tezuka nudged him with his elbow, and the Elf kept his mouth shut.

Meanwhile, Echizen heard someone call his name. He looked around, but didn't see anyone, except the other members of the fellowship.

'You're coming to us is as the footsteps of doom. You bring great evil,' spoke the voice.

Echizen looked around again, but they were still alone. It seemed none of the others had heard to the voice, so Echizen shrugged and ignored it.

'The evil Witch won't have me,' muttered Kaidoh behind Echizen. 'Not I.''

It suddenly bows with arrows were pointed at him and the other members from very close by. A black and white-haired man seemed to appear out of nowhere.

'The Dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark.'

'KOJIROH!' shouted Fuji happily. He stepped away from the deadly arrows and hugged the other Elf.

'Syuusuke! It's been so long! I haven't seen you for at least fifty years! Maybe even a hundred!' said the captain before he ordered his men to put their bows down. 'What are you doing here? Who are these guys?'

'Didn't Yukimura tell you we were on our way? I'm sure he is expecting us!'

Tezuka coughed. 'Fuji,' he said.

'Oh, of course, guys, this is Saeki Kojiroh,' said Fuji. 'He is the captain here, protecting Lothlorien. He is my childhood friend. We grew up together. He used to live in Mirkwood too. Kojiroh, these are Eiji, Oishi, Echizen, Momoshiro, Kawamura and Kaidoh. You already met Tezuka before, right?'

'Nice to meet you,' said the captain. 'Please follow me. If Yukimura knows you are visiting, we have to hurry. You know he doesn't like waiting.'

Saeki led the fellowship deeper into the woods. Upon a hill were more trees, even bigger than the ones before. In the crowns of the trees were houses, hidden by the leaves. An entire city built in the trees. The houses are beautiful and light, a combination of white, grey, silver and gold. Saeki led them up to the stairs until they arrived in front of two very good-looking Elves.

'There are eight of you here, where nine of you left Rivendell,' said one of the Elves. He had short black hair. 'Tell me, where is Inui.'

The other elf turned to him. 'Sanada, he has fallen into the shadow. Isn't that right?' the fair creature asked Fuji. Fuji nodded. 'The Fellowship is at the edge of failing, but hope remains if the company is true. Go and rest now. You can sleep peacefully over here. I will speak with you tomorrow.'

Saeki led the group away and showed them a place where they could sleep. Tiredly they sat down, dropping their heavy luggage. Fuji was the only one who seemed to have energy left, so he walked away with Saeki, to catch up with each other's lives.

The members of the Fellowship fell asleep while they listened to the beautiful voices of the Elves that sung mournful songs about Inui and his death. Tezuka was the only one who understood the language. He listened to the words when he noticed Kawamura was still awake.

'You can sleep. The borders are protected,' he said.

'I can't,' said Kawamura. 'That voice, I heard the voice of the witch in my head. He spoke of my father, of the fall of Gondor. He said there was hope left, but I can't see it. Not after the horrible things he told me. I know the people of Gondor are losing faith in my father. His way of ruling might bring us down. Have you seen the White Tower of Ecthelion? Something so beautiful shouldn't be lost. It should never be destroyed by Orcs.'

'I've seen it,' answered Tezuka. 'And we won't let them destroy it.

'No, we won't,' said Kawamura softly. He laid down and soon he fell asleep. Tezuka laid down as well. It wasn't much later when Fuji joined the group and got some rest himself.

A few hours later Echizen's eyes flicker open. Yukimura, all dressed in white, glowing in the moonlight, passed by and looked at him. Echizen stood up and followed him. They walked down stone stairs and stood on a small square. In the middle stood a silver basin.

'Look in the mirror, Echizen,' said Yukimura.

'Why would I?' asked Echizen, not planning to follow what he was told to do.

Yukimura poured water into the basin from a silver jug, and the water started glowing. 'I don't know,' he said. 'It could be the past. It could be the present, and it could be the future.'

Echizen stepped forward. He wouldn't mind seeing the future. That could be interesting. He walked to the basin and looked into the water.

The first thing he saw was Inui, but the image quickly disappeared. The Shire appeared. It was burning. There were dead bodies everywhere, and Orcs ran around. Echizen held his breath as the image changed again. He saw Hobbiton, but it wasn't green anymore. It was grey and cloudy. The land filled with brick factories. Hobbits being used as slaves, crying, falling on the ground under the heavy weight they carried. Suddenly, everything turned black. An eye surrounded by fire appeared in the middle of the darkness. An invisible force pulled Echizen towards the water. The Ring fell out of his shirt, but the necklace kept it in place. The image didn't disappear until Echizen pulled himself away from the basin. He fell backwards and hit the ground.

'I know what you saw,' said Yukimura as Echizen stood up. 'This is the future. This will happen if you fail to destroy the Ring. The Fellowship is breaking. He will try to take the Ring from you. You know who I'm talking about.'

'Why don't you take it if you know so well what I should do,' said Echizen a little angry.

'Oh, I would love that,' said Yukimura with a smile. It was like he grew taller and like the light was changing. It wasn't light reflecting on his white clothes, but darkness. 'I would be the Dark Lord, beautiful and terrible as the dawn. I would be stronger than any foundation of this earth. All would love me and despair!'

Echizen stepped away from the Elf. 'You're not getting the Ring. It makes you pretty scary.'

That moment Yukimura changed back to his old self and chuckled. 'I passed the test. I could resist, but it means you will have to continue this quest and bring this all to an end, so the future you have seen will not become reality.'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

'Once they were Elves,' spoke Yanagi to the leader of his Uruk-hai as they watched another of these fighting monsters was born. 'Elves, tortured by darkness, ruined until they got this perfect form of Uruk-hai. How humiliating it must be for those first-born. Prepare yourself for battle!'

Quickly, the Uruk-hai leader left and made sure his '' men got breastplates, helmets and swords. They marked themselves with the white hand of Yanagi to show who they fought for. Two hundred of them stood in front of their leader, ready to leave, and prepared to kill.

'Hunt them down,' said Yanagi. 'A 98 per cent chance you will kill them. A hundred per cent chance you will get to taste men flesh. Do whatever you want with them, but bring me the Halfling alive an unharmed. He has something I want. Go now!'

Two hundred Uruk-hai finally descended, furiously running full speed towards their destination.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The members of the Fellowship were given boats by the elves of Lothlorien. They were rowing over the silver river, away from the shores. The Elves watched them quietly, until one of them shouted.

'Syuusuke! You didn't even come to say goodbye!' It was Saeki, who pushed himself through the crowd until he could see the boats.

'Sorry!' shouted Fuji back with a bright smile. 'I'll visit you properly once this is all over, alright?'

On Saeki's face appeared a smile as well. 'It's a promise! Say 'hi' to your brother for me!'

Fuji wanted to answer, but Tezuka stopped him. The boats were too far from the shore by now. 'Do you want every Orc to know we're leaving?'

The honey-haired elf grinned and waved at his friend who stayed behind. It looked like Saeki was having the same problems, because Yukimura was talking to him, and he didn't look too happy. Fuji's grin grew wider as he made himself comfortable in the boat. He had made a good choice when he said he would be in the boat with Kaidoh. Had he joined the Hobbits, he would have to row himself, but now the Dwarf was doing a pretty good job, and Fuji could relax.

In one of the other boats, Echizen looked at the little bottle Yukimura had given him when they left. He had told him the light of a star was inside it, but Echizen didn't believe it. Nobody could catch starlight, let alone put it in a bottle. He put the present away and lay back to take a nap.

The boats floated over the big river. It was really quiet in the woods that surround the water. Birds fled from the trees. Unknown to the Fellowship, Uruk-hai ran through the woods, scaring the animals away.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A few hours later Echizen woke up when he heard voices. When he opened his eyes, he saw two enormous statues of kings on either side of the river. They were about 300 feet high, like they were watching over the river.

'I can see where you got your handsome looks from,' said Fuji to Tezuka from the other boat. 'Your ancestors don't look too bad. They're impressive!'

'They are,' replied Tezuka, not looking away from the statues. Tezuka and the others couldn't take his eyes off the kings. All of them were stunned. None of them spoke as they rowed the boats through the narrow gap between the statues' feet.

'That means we're almost there, right?' asked Fuji when they were past the kings and the magic was broken. 'The waterfall.'

'Yes,' answered Kawamura. 'We should get out of the boats soon.'

They sailed to the shore, as soon as they found a place between the trees that was big enough to pull the boats on land. They got out and stretched their sore limbs.

'We stay here for the night,' said Tezuka. 'We need our rest. Tomorrow, we'll continue our approach to Mordor from the North.'

'Fss, like it's so easy,' muttered Kaidoh. 'Finding our way through an impossible labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks and then playing hide and seek in the swamps. Something to look forward to.'

'That's our road,' answered Tezuka shortly.

'Are you sure it's safe?' whispered Fuji. 'I think we should leave now.'

'Because of the Orcs on the other shore?'

'I'm more worried about this shore,' said Fuji as he looked around. 'I feel there is something here. Something is coming.'

'Oi, lovebirds, are we getting any food? I'm hungry!' shouted Momoshiro suddenly.

'Then cook some food,' answered Tezuka before he turned back to Fuji. 'We shouldn't let our guard down.'

'Where is Echizen?' asked Oishi suddenly. Everyone looked around, but Echizen was nowhere in sight.

'Kawamura is gone as well,' said Tezuka when he noticed Kawamura's shield, but said man wasn't around.

Echizen was walking through the woods alone. He had planned to find a nice place to take a nap when he suddenly heard a sound behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Kawamura standing there.

'None of us should wander alone,' said the man. 'It's dangerous. The Ring might attract the attention of evil. If you want you can give it to me!'

'No,' answered Echizen shortly and he walked away. Kawamura followed him.

'Don't go alone. I will go with you in case something will attack.'

'The one who is most likely going to attack me is you,' said Echizen, and he sighed. He didn't like this situation at all. Once again, he turned his back to the man, but at the same time Kawamura reached out and touched the Ring.

'BUUUUURNING! GIVE ME THAT RING! NOW!'

Echizen stepped back quickly. When Kawamura took a step forward, Echizen started running away. This man was much stronger than he was. He wouldn't be able to win. Kawamura started to chase him. He ran and because his legs were longer, he quickly caught up with the Hobbit.

Seconds before Kawamura managed to grab Echizen's shoulder. Echizen slipped the Ring on his finger, and immediately he disappeared.

'NOOO!' screamed Kawamura. 'Echizen, please come back. I'm so sorry. I'm not trying to hurt you. Please come back, I just want to help.'

Meanwhile, Echizen raced through a misty twilight world. He could see the trees around him, and he could even see Kawamura, but everything was vague, and it seemed to move. But Echizen kept walking, away from the man who was searching for him. Suddenly, he walks into stairs. He climbed until he reaches the top. The world swirled around him and seemed to shrink. He saw faraway lands, images of marching Orcs, a burning Mirkwood and black ships sailing to the South. Then, there was Barad-Dur, the fortress of Chinen Hiroshi and his eye was looking at Echizen. It came closer, seemed to pierce through the Hobbit's soul.

That moment Echizen pulled the Ring off his finger. He falls backwards and tumbled down the stairs. Panting he lay on his back, not moving from his spot. When he caught his breath a little, he looked up and saw Tezuka towering over him.

'Kawamura has gone crazy!' said Echizen angry. 'He wanted to take the Ring from me.'

'Is it safe? Do you still have it?' asked Tezuka while he kneeled down next to the Hobbit.

'Stay away! I won't give it to you!'

Tezuka stood up again. 'I don't want it.'

'Then you must understand I will have to destroy this on my own,' answered Echizen. 'I don't want that man to attack me again. Tell Momo that he should go back home or something.'

'It's your decision what you do. It's his decision to do what he wants to do. Go now, the enemy is close by.'

Echizen started to run towards the river. A few heartbeats later hundreds of Uruk-hai appeared between the trees. Tezuka took his sword and as soon as the monsters were within his reach, he attacked. He stood his ground, but there were too many. Soon, he was surrounded by Uruk-hai, his back against the ruins where Echizen had fallen off earlier. Tezuka is almost hit by a knife, but the moment before the weapon could touch his skin, the Uruk-hai fell down on the ground, an Elven arrow in the back of his neck.

'Don't you dare to die on me, Tezuka,' smiled Fuji as he drew his swords and helped the future king. A few steps behind is Kaidoh, his axe in his hands, ready to fight.

The leader of the Uruk-hai shouted to the others that they had to search for the Halflings. Some of them stopped fighting and ran into the direction the Hobbit hat gone to. Echizen stumbled through the woods. It didn't take long before the monster behind him found him and started the chase.

'Echizen! Hide here!' sounded Eiji's voice from a hollow tree, not too far away from the Hobbit. Oishi was there with him.

Echizen hid behind a tree, shook his head at the two others, looking behind and started running again.

'Where is he going?' asked Eiji a bit too loud. The Uruk-hai heard him and stopped looking for Echizen. Instead, they turned to Eiji and Oishi. As fast as they could the two Hobbits started to run in the opposite direction of where Echizen had gone too. They ran through the trees, trying to find paths the big Uruk-hai couldn't follow.

In an open space, they found Kawamura, who just killed the last of the Uruk-hai that had attacked him earlier.

'They're coming!' cried Oishi as he and Eiji hid behind the man.

Kawamura blew on his horn when he saw how many Uruk-hai had been chasing the two Hobbits. Tezuka, Fuji and Kaidoh recognized it and fought their way through their enemies to help their friend.

When they arrived at the Uruk-hai leader was about to shoot an arrow at Kawamura. There were two arrows in the man's chest already. Tezuka slashed the leader's head off his body before he could release another one. Kawamura slumped down against a tree. Tezuka ran towards him, while Fuji and Kaidoh took care of the monsters that hadn't fled.

'They took... Eiji and Oishi,' muttered Kawamura. He was pale and there was blood running down his cheek. Tezuka tried to stop the bleeding, but it was in vain.

'Where... is Echi...zen?' asked the fallen man.

'He is safe,' answered Tezuka. 'I sent him away.'

'I... tried to take... the Ring. I failed... you all. Sorry.'

'I know,' said Tezuka. There was no anger in his voice at all. 'Echizen forgave you. It was the powers of the Ring that made you try. You fought bravely to protect him and the other Hobbits. You have kept your honour.''

'Protect... him... them. My city...' panted Kawamura.

Tezuka nodded. 'I will not let the White City fall.'

'I...was wrong,' spoke Kawamura with his last strength. 'You... will make... a great king. I would... have followed... you.'

'I know,' whispered Tezuka, but he wasn't heard. Kawamura's eyes were closed and his head fallen to the side. 'Be at peace, son of Gondor.'

Tezuka stood up and turned around. Fuji and Kaidoh were waiting there for him. 'We should give him a proper funeral. He is the son of the steward of Gondor.'

'We have to hurry,' answered Fuji. 'The Uruk-hai took Eiji and Oishi. We have to help them.'

While the three took care of Kawamura's body, Echizen arrived at the river and pushed one of the boats into the water. He climbed in it and started to row to the other side. It didn't go too well. The boat kept going in circles, which frustrated the Hobbit to no end.

'Looks like you can't do anything on your own,' shouted Momoshiro from the shore. 'If you can't even get to the other side of the river, how will you ever reach Mordor?'

The spiky-haired Hobbit stepped into the water and swam towards the boat. Echizen tried to paddle away from him, not wanting the other to come with him, but he failed. Within moments, Momoshiro grabbed the boat and climbed in it. He took the paddle from his friend and rowed to the other side.

By the time Tezuka, Fuji and Kaidoh arrived at the shore again, the two Hobbits were long gone.

'They really left,' muttered Fuji. They put Kawamura's body in the other boat, together with his sword and horn. They let his drift down the river. For a few moments, they watched their friend go, realizing they would never see him again.

'Let's hunt some Orc,' hissed Kaidoh.

The three men grabbed the things they needed, left everything else behind and disappeared into the woods.

**To be continued**


	7. Chapter 7

**Title: **The Prince of the Rings  
**Writer: **Tacuma  
**Pairing: **Perfect Pair, Golden Pair, Ah-Un Pair, Emerald Pair  
**Chapter:** 7/?  
**Genre: **AU, fantasy, angst, romance  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Word count: **2273words  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the Lord of the Rings.

Sorry I have no beta, so there will be mistakes in this, since English is not my first language. Don't like, don't read.

* * *

_The Prince of the Rings – Chapter 7_

Echizen sighed once again. Momoshiro was sleeping peacefully on the cold rocks, but he couldn't sleep. He had nightmares, sometimes about what happened to Inui, sometimes about the Eye of Chinen Hiroshi.

Suddenly with a loud snore Momo woke up. He looked around like he didn't know where he was, but when he saw Echizen he remembered. He sighed, the same way Echizen had done only a minute before. They both watched Mordor that they could see, far away.

'Mordor, the only place I don't want to go,' mumbled Momoshiro. 'No light, no fun, no drinks, no good food. Talking about food, do we have any left?'

'Like I know,' answered Echizen.

The older Hobbit grabbed the backpack and opened it. 'Oh, lovely Lembas bread and look, more Lembas bread! Aren't we lucky?'

He threw some of it to Echizen and took a bite himself. 'I don't like to eat the same every day.'

'Be glad we still have something to eat. We should get going or we'll never reach Mordor.'

They both got up and continued their journey. The landscape wasn't interesting at all. Dark, slippery rocks everywhere. It was cold and they smelled the swamp, but couldn't see it. They walked the entire day. Or what they thought was the entire day, because the sun didn't reach the dark place, so it was a little dark the entire time. They only stopped to sleep when Momoshiro decided Echizen looked too tired.

'We can't, someone's here,' said Echizen.

Momoshiro didn't want to hear about it. He told Echizen they needed their rest if they ever wanted to reach Mordor. The younger Hobbit complained they would never make it if Momoshiro kept walking in circles, but in the end they were both sleeping soundly.

It was just a few minutes later that Shinjou Reiji appeared. He climbed down the rocks, muttering things to himself.

'Thieves, filthy thieves! They stole it from me! My masterpiece! It's mine! I need it!'

The creature had long limbs and moved easily over the slippery and pointy rocks, like it was soft green grass. When he reached the Hobbits he reached out, ready to take the Ring from Echizen. He could almost touch it when the two Hobbits opened their eyes and jumped up. They grabbed Shinjou's arms, but he struggled and freed himself from them. In the fight Echizen fell back, the Ring slipping out from under his shirt. The moment Shinjou noticed it he jumped for it, forgetting about Momoshiro.

Momo pulled Shinjou away from Echizen, but the weird creature attacked him instead. His long fingers curl around Momoshiro's neck and only let go when Echizen grabbed the sword he had gotten from his father.

'You know this sword, don't you?' Echizen asked with a small grin.

Shinjou let go and it took only a few minutes before there was an Elvish rope around his neck and Momoshirowas dragging him around without showing any mercy.

'Take it off! It hurts!' shouted Shinjou.

'No, shut up!' said Momoshiro. 'Every Orc in Mordor is going to hear us this way! How can we ever sneak in with him! Let's just tie him up and leave him here.'

'NOOOOOO!' shouted Shinjou ever louder. He was tall, but he almost cried like a kid. 'They will kill me!'

'So what?' answered Echizen. 'Inui said we should take him. It seems there is something he has to do. If it wasn't for that I would have left him behind the moment we caught him.'

'Sucks,' answered Momo.

'Please take it off!' whined Shinjou. 'I promise I won't do a thing! I swear on the Masterpiece!'

'As long as you shut up,' answered Echizen. 'You're loud.'

Momoshiro let Shinjou go. The creature was a little taller than the Hobbit, but he was really thin. It scared Momo. He wasn't going to share his food with this thing!

'You know the way to Mordor?' Echizen asked. Shinjou just nodded. 'Good, bring us to the Black Gate.'

Shinjou started walking in the direction of Morannon and the two Hobbits followed him.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A huge group of Uruk-hai marched through the fields of Middle-Earth, two Hobbits bound on their backs. Their hand and feet were bound with ropes, so they couldn't move at all. Oishi was crying that they didn't have the Ring and begging to let them go, but the monsters were ignoring him completely. Eiji had tried to comfort him with words, but it didn't help much. The redhead had stopped trying and worked on another plan. He was trying to get his Elven brooch from his cloak. But because his hands were bound it was rather difficult.

Suddenly the Uruk-hai stopped.

'I smell something,' said one of them.

'What is it?' asked a second.

'Man-flesh!' shouted the first. 'They picked up our trail. Hurry up!'

Eiji thought about his friends. It must have been Tezuka they were talking about and they were after the Uruk-hai. With even more effort he tried to take his brooch off and in the end he managed. He spit it on the ground. Even though many of their enemies stepped on it, it didn't break and it was still visible in the grass.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Tezuka is lying with his eyes closed, his ear pressed against the ground.

'They found out about us, they're speeding up,' he said as he looked into the direction of the sounds. 'We must hurry.'

Fuji quickly followed Tezuka and so did Kaidoh. Dwarfs weren't creatures who ran around a lot, but Kaidoh wasn't one of them. His stamina was almost as good as that of the Elf.

'Three days without food or rest,' the Dwarf complained. He could do it, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Fuji laughed. 'You will learn to live with it! Do you think I at every day of those thousand years of my life? It's be terribly fat by now!'

Kaidoh only glared at him and didn't answer. He followed the others over rocks and mountains, through fields and woods. Until Tezuka stopped. He picked an Elven brooch from the ground.

'One of them must have dropped it for us to found,' said Fuji when he noticed what Tezuka had found.

'They might still be alive,' answered Tezuka. 'They're less than a day ahead of us.'

The three of them started running again. They ran up a hill, so they could see their surroundings and to see where the Uruk-Hai were going.

'We're in Rohan,' Tezuka noticed. 'What can you see, Fuji?'

The eyes of the Elf were much better than that of any human. It might be the bright blue colour of those eyes, but Tezuka had never dared to ask.

'They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!'

Tezuka was surprised. 'Isengard? They're taking them to Yanagi?'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

Yanagi Renji stood in his chambers and communicated with Chinen Hiroshi through his seeing-stone. He was definitely happy with the things he saw: the destruction that his Orcs had brought to this world.

'No one has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor. There is only a 2 per cent chance somebody will win from Yanagi Renji and Chinen Hiroshi. We will rule Middle Earth!'

Outside Orcs were taking down all the trees to feed the fires of industry underneath Isengard. Sounds of hammering were filling the air while weapons were made.

'The old world is burning in the fires of industry,' said Yanagi. 'We will drive the machine of war with sword and spear and the iron fist of the Orc! A hundred per cent chance we will destroy those who dare to oppose us.'

Behind the Wizard some men had gathered. Yanagi turned around to face them.

'The horsemen took your land,' he said. 'They drove your people to the mountains. Take back what is stolen from you. Burn all the villages!'

The men roar of approval and stomp off to do what the Wizard had told them to do. They will take back what was ones theirs.

'A 90 per cent chance it will begin in Rohan. Your time has come, there is no escape. Rohan is ready to fall.'

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

A group of horsemen rode to the city of Edoras, led by a blond man named Tachibana Kippei. They were carrying wounded men on their horses as they rode home.

At the Golden Hall, where the King of Rohan lived, a girl is waiting for the men to return. When they finally arrive she ran as quick as she could to the rooms where the wounded could to rest and heal. She looked at the men, but she could see most wounds were fatal and they would die before the morning.

'Ann, don't stay here,' said Tachibana to his younger sister. 'There is nothing we can do for them anymore.'

In silence they walked to the King Jiroh, who sat motionless on his throne. His eyes were open, but other than that it looked like he was sleeping. He looked old, although he wasn't. He didn't even move when the siblings entered the room.

'Many men are wounded, My Lord,' said Ann.

'We were ambushed by Orcs!' said Tachibana fiercely. 'If we don't defend our country we will all get killed by Yanagi and he will take our land!'

'That's a lie!' said a man who came from the shadows. He had black, curly hair that was all over the place and green eyes. 'Yanagi Renji has always been our friend and ally!

'Kiri…hara…s that…you?' mumbled King Jiroh from his throne. 'My…men…'

'Orcs are running freely across our lands!' said Tachibana. 'They kill our people and take whatever they want. Those Orcs are bearing the White Hand of Yanagi!'

He dropped a helmet in front of Kirihara, so he could see the White hand painted on it.

'Don't trouble your King even more,' said Kirihara, not paying attention to the helmet on the floor. 'He has enough troubles already. I won't let you talk him into fighting, war-freak.'

Within seconds Tachibana was pinning Kirihara against a pillar. 'What did Yanagi promise you? What will you get when all my men are dead?'

For a second Kirihara's eyes are watching Tachibana Ann. It's enough for the older brother to know what his price would be. Tachibana grabbed Kirihara's jaw, so the man had to look at him.

'You will not ever get my sister! Don't even think about laying a finger on her!'

Before the man could say anymore two guards grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away.

'You see much, Tachibana Kippei,' said Kirihara. 'Too much. You are banned from Rohan.'

The two guards dragged the struggling Tachibana from the Golden Hall.

**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

The Uruk-hai were running as fast as they could. They knew they were being chased, but going on for such a long time was even impossible for the group of monsters like these. One of them said he wouldn't continue if they didn't get a short break. They all stopped and quickly chopped some trees to make a fire.

'Oishi! Oishi!' Eiji called.

The black-haired Hobbit opened his eyes. 'What is it?' he asked.

'What's making that noise?'

Oishi listened carefully. 'It's the trees,' he answered. 'Do you remember the Old Forest, close to Buckland? I heard people tell stories that the trees grew incredibly big there. They said there was something in the water that made them come alive.'

'Eh! How is that possible?' asked the redhead surprised.

'Shh, not so loud!' warned Oishi. 'I don't know either, but they said the trees could speak and even move.'

They both stopped talking when all Uruk-Hai were looking at them.

'We could eat their legs,' said one of them. 'They don't need their legs and they look so tasty!'

'Get back, scum!' said another. 'Those are not for eating.

'Not even a little?' said the first, a knife ready in his hands. He approached the Hobbits, ready to stab.

Before he reached them the second Orc moved and cut off the first Orc's head with one swing of his weapon. 'Looks like there is meat on the menu!' he shouted to the others.

Within seconds all the Orcs and Uruk-Hai sat around the dead one and ate him. Eiji and Oishi turned quickly and moved backwards, away from the gross meal. No one was paying attention to them at the moment.

The two Hobbits tried to crawl away as fast as they could with their hands still bound to each other. They were only a few meters away from the group of feasting creatures when a foot landed on Eiji's back.

'Where do you think you're going?' asked the Orc who had stopped them. He was carrying a weapon. 'Call for help if you want to. No one is going to save you now!'

Suddenly a spear pierced through the Orc's body and he fell flat on the ground. The Riders of Rohan had appeared and were fighting the Uruk-Hai.

'Eiji!' Oishi called.

The two of them started to crawl away from the fight. Around them everyone was fighting and they had to be careful not to get stepped on. It was slowly getting dark and the Uruk-Hai were to engrossed in fighting these new enemies. Without anybody noticing they disappeared into the forest.


End file.
